Edward ermold



(No odel. w

E. ERMOLD. COMPRESSOR FOR BOTTLE GORKING MACHINES.

No. 492,540. PatentedFe b. 28, 1893.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICEO EDWARD ERMOLD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

COMPRESSOR FOR BO'TTLE-CORKING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 492,540, dated February 28, 1893. Application filed April 10, 1891. Renewed January 12, 1892. Again renewed August 4, 1892. Serial Ne l 2,122. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD ERMOLD, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cork-Compressors for Bottle-(Jerking Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention.

This invention relates to an improved corkcompressing tube for bottle-corking machines; and it consists of a cork-compressing tube that is composed of an upper portion having a recess opening at the rear end, tapering in its middle part and semi-circular at its closed end, said upper portion being attached by bolts to the supporting table of the corking machine, a detachable lower portion having laterallyextending perforated ears, a conically-tapering opening vertically below the rounded off part of the recessed upper portion, an outwardly-flaring part at the lower end of said tapering opening and a segmental flange or bottle-rest extending below the lower portion, and screw-bolts for connecting the ears of the lower portion of the compressing tube, aswill be fully described hereinafter and finally pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I represents a side-elevation of my improved cork-compressing tube for bottle-corking machines, showing it as attached to the supporting table, which is shown in vertical section. Fig. II is a vertical longitudinal section, on line 2 2, Fig. IV. Fig. III isa front-elevation, and Fig. IV is a plan-view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts. 7

In the drawings, Arepresents the table of a ,bot-tle-corking machine of any approved construction, and B B a cork-guiding and compressing tube, which is formed of an upper and lower portion, the upper portion 13 having a recess 17, which extends through the rear part of the upper portion and tapers gradually toward the rounded off opposite end, as shown clearly in Fig. IV. The recess 1) serves to admit a tapering and horizontally-reciprocating squeezer O, which is guided in suitable manner and provided with a concave face, so

as to push the cork that is'dropped into the recess of the upper portion B toward the rounded-oif end of the recess 1) and compress it, in connection with said rounded-off end, ready for the action of the plunger D that is arranged vertically in line with the axis of the cork-compressing tube and operated by suitable mechanism. The upper portion '13 is provided with four bolt-holes and is attached by two screw-bolts a that pass through the rear holes to the table A. The lower portion B of the compressing tube is provided with laterally-extending and perforated ears I), which are attached by bolts a to the two front holes of the upper portion 19, as shown clearly in the drawings. The lower portion B'is provided with a conically-tapering opening I) Vertically below the rounded-off end of the recess 1), into which opening the cork, after its compression by the squeezer, is pushed by the plunger.

Below the lower end of the conically-tapering opening 19 is arranged an outwardly-flaring part 19 which is surrounded by a short lip 12 at the front part and by a downwardlyextending segmental flange 19 which latter serves as a rest for the bottle-head. By exchanging the lower portion 13 of the compressing tube, which is readily accomplished by loosening the attaching screw-bolts a, bot tles of different sizes of mouths can be corked with great facility, as the conical opening 19 is made either somewhat larger or smaller at its lower end, according to the size to which the cork is to be compressed. The diameter of the upper end of the tapering opening 1) remains the same with all sizes of corks,while the taper of the opening, or in other words, the diameter of the lower end of the opening, varies according to the size of the bottle-mouth, so that the required degree of compression can be imparted to the corks used for corking. The flaring part b at the lower end of the lower portion 12 is arranged for the purpose of serving as a guide for the sponge that is used for wiping off the moisture that is pressed out of the moist cork and exuded at the lower end of the cork after the same has received its primary compression, and also as a rest for the rim of the bottle-head, so that the passage of the cork from the compressing tube into the bottle-mouth is facilitated. The upper portion B is permanently attached to the supporting table of the bottle-corking machine, the lower portion only being made exchangeable so as to provide for the different sizes of corks and bottle-mouths, whereby a wider range is imparted to the corking machin e, inasmuch as all sizes of bottles can be corked by the same. By the two compressions to which the cork is subjected in its motion through the compressing tube, first by the action of the squeezer and then by the action of the plunger in forcing the cork through the tapering opening of the lower portion, the structure of the cork is not injured, which is frequently the case when only one compression of the cork is used, as the squeezer produces indenrations or marks on the cork as the degree of compression at one time is too great. This marking of the cork and injuring of its structural condition is entirely avoided by my cork-compressor, as the final compression takes place in the tapering opening b of the lower portion B, from which the cork is transferred into the bottle-mouth without any injury or structural change being imparted to the same.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- A cork-guiding and compressing tube for bottle-corking machines, composed of an upper portion having a tapering recess opening at the rear part and rounded oft at its opposite end, bolts for attaching the upper portion to the supporting table, a detachable lower por- 

